Temporal Lobe Volume Measurement in Mood Disorder Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Cho, In Hee; Na, Chul; Lee, Jae Woo; Park, Doo Byung

Abstract

OBJECTS: This study was performed to investigate neuroanatomical change in the temporal lobe in the patients with mood disorder.
METHODS
The study groups were consisted of 13 patients with major depressive disorder with psychotic feature,23 patients with major depressive disorder without psychotic feature, 13 patients with bipolar disorder and 50 age-matched control group. We used DSM-III-R criteria far classifying our patients. We estimated the area and volume of the left, right and total temporal lobe In selected 6-8 coronal MR images including the boundary of the temporal lobe. We compared the results of both patients with mood disorder and control group.
RESULTS
There was no significant difference in the volume of total and right temporal lobe between the patients with mood disorder and control group. But the average volume of the left temporal lobe was significantly smaller than that of the control group. After patients were divided according to subtype, the patient group was compared with control group. The average volume of the left temporal lobe in the patients with depressive disorder was smaller than that of control group, however there were no significant difference In between the patients with bipolar and control group. Among the subtype of depressive diseases, the patients with psychotic feature was significantly smaller than control subjects in the volume of left temporal lobe.
CONCLUSION
Finally, we could find that there was significantly smaller volume in left temporal lobe only in the patients with major depressive disorder with psychotic feature. This findings support the previous hypothesis that in contrast to other subtype of mood disorder, major depressive disorder with psychotic feature should be classified to be the spectrum disease lying between schizophrenia and mood disorder.